The Russellville Democrat. [volume] (Russellville, Ark.) 1875-1898, 1887-08-24
THE SMOKING HABIT.



( An English journal recently offered
prize for the best argument against
smoking. Following is the article for
which the prize was awarded:
1t is unphy hysiological because no ani-
NAL in state of nature uses it, and the
first time man smokes he is usually
violently upset by it. When a person
eats new kind Of fruit for the first
time he may not like it, but it does not
make him i'll, as such fruit is a food.
But tobacco. being a poison. nearly
always causes an upset to the system.
1t is only by continued use that man
can use it without being made imme-
diately i'll; he is made ultimately dis
eased by its use.
| 1t is expensive because there is no
need for it; it is not even a luxury that
helps us to spend our superfluous cash
harmlessly, because it causes more
loss and injury than it does good. In
England we spend at least f12, 200, GOO
year on tobacco alone; what with
pipes, matches, cigar-holders, cigaret-
tubes, cigaret-machines. etc. we do
not spend short of f2o,00o,0 900.
Il is a dirty habit. What smells
| worse than the breath of smoker,
| than his tobacco-soaked clothes, and
his rank pipe? Then the ashes from
pipes, cigars and cigarets fall on
| clothes, carpets, table-cloths, ctc,, and
| dirty or disfigurc them. Smoking
blackens the teeth. and if a pipe is
| smoked the teeth that hold it are worn
away, and so we spoil natural adorn-
ment--the teeth.
1t is selfish, in that the person only
who uses it gets pleasure from it, and
that often at the expense Of others.
Smokers poison the air common to all
| by the fumes they emit. The selfish
ness of the smoker causes fam
lily quarrels and disputes, the man
| preferring his pipe to his wife
or sweetheart. 1t is disease-pro-
ducing. It stops growth, and causes
ill-developed persons if used be-
fore growth has stopped. In adults it
! first blunts the sense of taste, smell and
sight, and, Indirectly, the hearing and
touch. 1t always produces more or
less sore throat, and often, in conse-
| quence, the worst kind of deafness
viz: throat deafness. When absorbed
into the system it causes palpitation
and irregular action of the heart, and
| has depressing influence on it. 1t de-
| lays digestion, causes nervousness,
trembling of hands, indecision, loss Of
energy and of will-power, with lowness
Of spirits. 1t deadens thought, and
makes man dull and listless instead
of being intelligent and active. 1t
causes loss of appetite, helps on cancer
of the stomach and is the active cause
of most cases of cancer seen in the
| lower lip, which is rarely seen except
among smokers. Z 1t also lessons the
vitality, and wounds heal less rapidly
| amongst smokers than amongst nom
| smokers. 1t wastes time and energy.
1t wastes energy as it depresses the
| vital powers and uses up itself life and
/ power that should be used for helping
on mankind. 1t leads to- drinking.
| Smoking always causes dryness of
the throat, and the saliva elected is
fluid lost to the system; to relieve
both these conditions fluids are taken.
As tobacco is a neryine depressent alco-
hol is often used to get rid of this de-
pressed feeling. Statistics of temper
anee friendly societies show that smok-
ers break away from their pledge in
| greater numbers than non-smokers do.
| 1t leads to loss of property, goods
and lives, by the fires which originate
by lighted ashes from pipes, by lighted
cigar ends. or matches used by smok
ers. The loss in this country by lire
traceable to smoking is very large.
Chicago Tribune.